Apple Debuts Desktop Trackpad, Rechargeable AA

[beayn]

It looks like you wouldn't actually be able to relax and use this thing, you'd have to hold your arm up while using it. I don't see how this would have any practical use for a home user due to that alone. The only thing I can think of is maybe CAD or art.

 

[mactruck]

[citation][nom]Dkz[/nom]The concept is accurate, but not for a desktop, I see this thing positive if you could merge it with the keyboard (a small one) and then you get a keyboard and a mouse over your lap. [/citation]

I've been using a Logitech Cordless MediaBoard with my HTPC for 2+ years now. It's a near-full-size keyboard with a trackpad instead of a numpad - perfect for surfing and emailing from the couch and still costs less than Apple's trackpad. Logitech also makes the smaller bluetooth Dinovo Edge, but it is much more expensive.

 

[warezme]

just exactly how many "gestures" do you need to click on an icon? A programmable key writing pad is more suitable for CAD, not this thing.

 

[Guest]

APPLE ... APPLE ... APPLE... again again again...

A company that spend more in marketing than in its products...
Just to find idiots buying what they so on TV

 

[eddieroolz]

The batteries are probably rebranded Eneloops anyway. Apple will find a way to claim invention of rechargable batteries somehow.

Lastly, about the trackpad: looks like Apple is running out of ideas. Seriously?

 

[urbansaint]

hahaha i cant help but to laugha nd shake my head apple is a joke they keep releasing things hoping they will catch a break, this is the stupidest crap i have seen, it reminds me of those infomercials were there like buy onw now for 1,000 dollars and we will throw in 10 batteries for and extra easy payment on 29.99! freaking joke!

 

[DjEaZy]

... and how it works with FPS'es?

 

[jimmysmitty]

A trackpad seems to have failed for the most part on laptops (most come with a laptop mouse these days) so why would people want it for their desktop?

Is this the "Revolutionary" Apple has become? Used old crappy ideas for desktops?

 

[forrestsun]

For people laughing at this device, you apparently have not used the trackpad on the macbook pro much. To me the way you use two finger to scroll pages and use pinch to zoom in n out on a PDF reading is more natural than using a mouse. I am not a fan of the price though but I sometimes wonder why innovative products have come from PC end of the world lately? I guess many but none raise my interest.

 

[Guest]

@forrestsun

pinch zoom like the mouse scroll wheel is highly inefficient, i spend alot of time reading PDFs, i require only 2 zoom level, actual size and full page size, ctlr-0 and ctlr-1 is infinitely more preferable then pinching

i must cede though, i love using pinch zoom for photo browsing

 

[sirmorluk]

I see no point in this. The magic mouse is essentially the same thing only with more functions.
I have the mouse on my 24" iMac and think it is awesome and innovative. I would not use it for gaming though. Additionally it consumes batteries very quickly although I use rechargeable.
Honestly I cannot figure out why people pay so much for Apples products. I know I certainly wouldn't pay what they ask. Thankfully I get mine for free.
I do like the MacOS though for what I use it for. Which is surfing the internet,watching videos and playing music. It resides in my kitchen so I also use it for recipe storage.
Now before anyone starts assuming that I am a Apple fanboi I should also state that I own 7 Windows7 PCs/laptops, 1 Ubuntu 10.4 PC and 2 Macs. I by far prefer the Windows boxes over the others.

 

[Guest]

I would love to have one of these, it would be super useful! No really, I'm serious! The swiping to scroll vertically AND horizontally would be super useful for me when I'm editing projects in multi-window apps like music editing programs (Logic, Ableton, heck even garageband). Zooming would be handy too. I was hoping they would come out with a product like this for a while actually, but I never actually thought they would... The touchpads (stand alone or built in) are awesome because of the gestures, since they allow for quick and smooth interfacing and control of your programs (as far as scrolling and zooming and whatnot go). A mouse is, however, more accurate as a pointer tool, and the right click functionality is better too (except apple mice have always had crappy right clicking (since it won't register a right click if your finger is still touching the left side of the mouse)). Anyways, this is an awesome supplementary tool. Not cheap though... but of course, that's apple for you!

 

[Nakal]

I myself would never use one, but I know of a few people who use USB touchpads with their PCs where I work, because of Ergonomic or health reasons. I could see this being viable for something like that.

 

[mdrejhon]

"The biggest surprise here is the use of standard AA rechargable batteries. You can buy those from anywhere. It's a bit unusual of Apple to issue a product that is not 100% proprietary"

Although I'm not an Apple fanboy (I'm a Windows 7 user with a BlackBerry *and* an iPod!) I should point out that this is not terribly surprising of Apple. They have a trend of mixing proprietary with standardization:

To Apple's credit, they eventually standardized on IDE, PCI, Intel. So much that it's now possible to hack a PC to run MacOS now. Remember the NuBus and AppleTalk days? Bingo. They cherrypick industry standards (i.e. H.264) and integrate it into their software. And I observed that on my iPod at least, Apple followed standard USB mass-storage rules to the point where an iPod behaves like an thumbdrive without needing any Apple drivers, even though you gotta use Apple's proprietary cable.

See, Apple has a mixed bag of mixing standardizing and proprietary stuff. Not too terribly surprising for someone watching Apple's antics over the years.

 

[hotchrisbfries]

And a trackpad for a desktop? Isn't that going backwords? I rarely use the trackpad on my laptop and instead use a wireless mouse.

PhotoShop!

 

[maestintaolius]

So... basically they made a cheap, crappy Wacom tablet? Of course, I can't seem to find the specs detailing resolution or anything I'd be interested in on Apples magictouch site (they have plenty of dang pictures though). At 99$ you can get the low end wacom bamboo that has multitouch (and gestures), 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, and pen input. Sure, it's not wireless, but who cares in all honesty, I don't use my Wacom from across the room and I don't have to mess around with batteries.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

[citation][nom]jimmysmitty[/nom]A trackpad seems to have failed for the most part on laptops (most come with a laptop mouse these days) so why would people want it for their desktop?Is this the "Revolutionary" Apple has become? Used old crappy ideas for desktops?[/citation]

Most laptops come with a mouse these days?? I've never ever seen a laptop for sale with a mouse in the box. I'll admit that trackpads aren't usually that great but if there's one thing Apple does very well it's trackpads. The ones on their laptops are leagues ahead of the competition. I've liked them so much that I've bought one of these Magic Pads. Obviously not to replace my Microsoft mouse but to complement it. I always miss the rotate and pinch to zoom gestures when using my desktop instead of my laptop. I don't need drawing capabilities (although I'll give my Pogo Sketch a go anyway) but the gestures really help when dealing with lots of PDFs. I mainly use my computers for work after all, not gaming - that's just a side thing for off hours and I doubt I'll ever use the trackpad for that.

 

[kingssman]

[citation][nom]jimmysmitty[/nom]A trackpad seems to have failed for the most part on laptops (most come with a laptop mouse these days) so why would people want it for their desktop?Is this the "Revolutionary" Apple has become? Used old crappy ideas for desktops?[/citation]

Actually the reason why trackpad has failed on PC laptops is due to the lack of multitouch. Being able to to scroll using 2 finger swipes, or ALT-TAB with 3 finger swipes, or right click by pressing with two fingers or rotate images by using 2 fingers in a turning motion and zooming in and out with pinching motions. Once you experience that on a daily basis you wonder how you ever lived without it. The pad idea on desktop is actually due to popular demand because the multitouch features on their laptops when it comes to image manipulation and web surfing.

Also, the magic mouse is actually great for FPS games because it functions just like a 12 button mouse w/ scroll wheel once you get all the gestures set up.

 

[notanakin]

The licence agreement for the AA batteries say they can ONLY be used for Apple devices. Using them on anything else will void the warranty and might be a violation of the DMCA. But don't worry - I'm working on the jailbreak.

Apple already has plans for a smaller version, codename AAA.

 

[dEAne]

very good idea.

 

[zachary k]

i guess there are a few people who like the trackpad. whats next? a nubbin for the PC?

 

[denial_]

[citation][nom]zachary k[/nom]i guess there are a few people who like the trackpad. whats next? a nubbin for the PC?[/citation]
Maybe that's because they never tried it . Did you?

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]kingssman[/nom]Actually the reason why trackpad has failed on PC laptops is due to the lack of multitouch. Being able to to scroll using 2 finger swipes, or ALT-TAB with 3 finger swipes, or right click by pressing with two fingers or rotate images by using 2 fingers in a turning motion and zooming in and out with pinching motions. Once you experience that on a daily basis you wonder how you ever lived without it. The pad idea on desktop is actually due to popular demand because the multitouch features on their laptops when it comes to image manipulation and web surfing.Also, the magic mouse is actually great for FPS games because it functions just like a 12 button mouse w/ scroll wheel once you get all the gestures set up.[/citation]

You do know that tons of PCs have multitouch trackpads for some time now. Even an EEE PC 900 from 2008 has a multitouch trackpad.

A magic mouse good for fps? No! Doing gestures takes a lot more time than pressing a simple button.

 

[dsdseo5]

look luxuries in pics hopefully it will good for all the usres

 

[jimmysmitty]

[citation][nom]Spanky Deluxe[/nom]Most laptops come with a mouse these days?? I've never ever seen a laptop for sale with a mouse in the box. I'll admit that trackpads aren't usually that great but if there's one thing Apple does very well it's trackpads. The ones on their laptops are leagues ahead of the competition. I've liked them so much that I've bought one of these Magic Pads. Obviously not to replace my Microsoft mouse but to complement it. I always miss the rotate and pinch to zoom gestures when using my desktop instead of my laptop. I don't need drawing capabilities (although I'll give my Pogo Sketch a go anyway) but the gestures really help when dealing with lots of PDFs. I mainly use my computers for work after all, not gaming - that's just a side thing for off hours and I doubt I'll ever use the trackpad for that.[/citation]

I have had multiple new laptops customers have brought in, due to their old one going dead, that have come with a mini mouse with a wireless conector.

In a personal preference, I can never give up a mouse. I don't like even using trackpads for laptops to work on them. They are just meh.